QUIZ

5 TYPES OF
IMPOSTOR SYNDROME
Impostor syndrome expert Dr Valerie Young has identified five types. Find out which category could apply to you.

DO YOU EVER WORRY YOU WILL BE FOUND OUT?

YES NO

Do you feel your colleagues are more capable than you? Do you feel uncomfortable when someone praises your work?

YES NO YES NO

Do you use minimising Do you expect your

Do you avoid Do you set
language? (e.g. “I’m pretty
asking for a raise? unattainable goals? work to be flawless?
sure”, “I kind of think”)

YES NO YES NO NO YES YES NO

Do you feel that Do you think your Do you feel that Do you think Are you constantly
Do you often
praise is just success comes down to your work must be your position in life worried you’re
overwork or
people trying outside factors only flawless all of is mostly down not meeting
overprepare?
to be nice? (such as good contacts)? the time? to luck? expectations?

NO YES YES NO NO YES YES NO YES

NO YES NO

Do you avoid applying Do you feel

Do you feel you have
for a job unless you embarrassed when Do you often stay
failed if you struggle to
have all the you don’t have the late at work? Do you have trouble Are you a
master something?
requirements? answer? delegating tasks? micromanager?

YES

YES NO YES NO
NO

THE EXPERT
Experts feel they need to know 100 per cent about a
topic before they confidently add it on their CV, for
example. It doesn’t matter how much institutional
knowledge they already possess, or how many
credentials/accolades they have to their name, it never
feels like enough. They’re in constant pursuit of more
skills/knowledge/information and often don’t feel
‘good enough’. Thinking that they need all the
information sometimes prevents them from
speaking up or offering an opinion.
NO
THE SOLOIST
You believe that a job well done means a
job that was completed without any help. It can
be hard for you to take credit for work when others
helped you. It’s not that soloists believe they’re better
than others and therefore don’t need outside input; it’s
that they believe they shouldn’t need it. They operate
under the misinformed opinion that competence equals
individual effort/expertise. Anything less than this, they
believe, means they’re not cut out for the task at hand.
Soloists often believe their work must be entirely
original; they can easily feel crushed if they find
that someone else has already brought an
March 2021 HRM magazine 23
NO
YES
Do you feel pressure
to excel in all aspects
of your life?
YES
NO
THE
SUPERWOMAN/MAN
Don’t confuse this group with the
perfectionists. Perfectionists can be happy
enough to master one aspect of their lives – say,
their jobs – whereas the superwoman/man believes
they must juggle multiple roles with ease. For example,
a working parent who tries to excel as an employee,
friend, partner and parent, and beats themselves up when
they fail in one of these areas. Inevitably, when they fall
short, it can cause a domino effect and impact their
perceptions of their abilities in other aspects of their
life. This group often feels inadequate and can
be prone to burnout as they attempt to
NO
YES
You might not have
IMPOSTOR
SYNDROME!
THE NATURAL GENIUS
These people believe they must have
YES
inherent intelligence and ability. Therefore, they
believe success should be effortless – if they can’t
do something right on their first attempt (and quickly),
this can cement their impostor syndrome feelings. Like
with the perfectionist, natural geniuses tend to set
unreasonably high standards for themselves that are near
impossible to meet. However, rather than seeking a
flawless approach, they measure success on speed and
ease. Importantly, this drive for quick success isn’t
borne from laziness, but rather from a
misinformed view that they are the only ones
who must work hard to succeed.
THE PERFECTIONIST
Perfectionists expect to be perfect at
everything. They think they should deliver an
unblemished record 100 per cent of the time.
When they fail to measure up to these unreasonably
high standards, it only confirms their impostor
feelings. Due to a fear of failure, perfectionists can be
known to avoid taking on new/difficult tasks in an
attempt to protect themselves from the shame
surrounding a perceived ‘failure’. Importantly, this is
not the same thing as wanting to excel in life/work.
You can have high standards without
demanding perfectionism.

idea of theirs to life.

master everything at once.

Note: see article on page 18 for advice from Dr Valerie Young about supporting employees who experience these various forms of impostor syndrome.
Source: Research from Dr Valerie Young – Secret thoughts of successful women: why capable people suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and now to thrive in spite of it. Format adopted from Dice.com